


Above the Law

by enigmaticblue



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-15
Updated: 2011-01-15
Packaged: 2017-10-14 19:10:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/152496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticblue/pseuds/enigmaticblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Helen and James let it be known that they had gotten married in a quiet civil ceremony. They might have been above the law to a certain extent, but they still had to participate in polite society.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Above the Law

Even James Watson believed that the Five were above the law, at least to a certain extent, but he and Helen were the only two not to take advantage of that fact. Nigel robbed banks, Nikola performed dangerous experiments, and John… Well, everyone knew what John had done, and was probably still doing.

 

James and Helen, however—they still had to move among polite society. The king might have pledged support for their Sanctuary, but they still had private donors to finesse, a network to form, friends to cultivate.

 

Working closely together as they did, and Helen without the shield of a fiancé or a father now, it was simply easier to let it be known that they had married in a small civil ceremony.

 

John sometimes wished that he could fall in love with Helen, that they could have more than the deep, abiding friendship and affection. Most of the time, he could be grateful for what they did have. They were true equals, which was more than could be said for most married couples.

 

Not that they were married. Anyone who delved too far into the marriage records would discover that they had never made it that far, but James wasn’t too concerned about that. Propriety had been maintained, and that was enough.

 

They had breakfast together every morning, and they often ate lunch and dinner together as well.

 

And for all James expected Helen to surprise him, he hadn’t expected her to say, “You know, James, if you’d like to bring someone else home, I’ll understand.”

 

James blinked. “Pardon me?”

 

“I meant that I’m aware that we aren’t actually married, and that you might have needs you need met,” Helen replied evenly, looking at him over the rim of her teacup. “If you have someone you’d like to bring home to fill those needs, I won’t mind—whether male or female.”

 

James swallowed hard. He hadn’t thought anyone had known. Even John had believed it a relic of James’ schoolboy days, and James hadn’t disabused him of that fact. James hadn’t told anyone that women did very little for him, but men excited him in a way that would be viewed as entirely abhorrent.

 

“Helen…”

 

“If you’re married, that makes it easier, doesn’t it?” Helen asked, her voice completely innocent. “There’s no one who will question you bringing a male friend to dinner, or him staying the night.”

 

James felt heat creep up his face. “Helen—”

 

“Don’t be silly, James,” Helen said. “I don’t care. I understand. And I’ll turn a blind eye, which is exactly what every other wife in London would say, if she felt comfortable speaking about such things.”

 

James steadied his nerves with a sip of tea. “And what about you? What’s your great secret? What needs do you have that I’m not meeting?”

 

Helen’s smile dimmed. “I don’t think there’s anyone who can meet that need, James.”

 

“Tell me anyway,” he pressed, uncomfortable with the idea that Helen would know something that could see him hung, and he had no such hold over her.

 

“If you could restore John to his old self, I would be quite content,” Helen replied tartly.

 

He offered her a sympathetic grimace. “I’m sorry, Helen.”

 

James didn’t say that he would be content as well if John was restored to his old self. That was one secret that would remain his alone.


End file.
